Glass Sword Review WITH SPOILERS

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard Review

WITH SPOILERS
5 out of 5 Stars

Sequels can be scary.... not as good as the first one, no real action in the plot, seems like a giant filler book..... NOT THIS ONE. Glass Sword was phenomenal. Definitely one of the best sequels -actually one of the best books- that I have read so far this year. This may sound extreme, because it is, but towards the end of the book my reactions were so strong that I sobbed for about thirty minutes and shortly afterwords something else happened and I threw up. Like I said, very dramatic, very emotional, VERY extreme. Which is odd, because I normally don't have very strong reactions. Victoria Aveyard's writing was that good, and that compelling.

SPOILERS

CHARACTERS:
Shade: I fell in love with Shade Barrow in this book. I had read the novella book Cruel Crown before this, and I liked Shade in that book. He was interesting, funny, clever, and I knew him from the end of Red Queen. But in Glass Sword his character is brought out more and developed so much further. We got to see him protective, as an older brother, and as a boyfriend. And then he died.... and I was sobbing... and my brother thought I was crazy. :)

Farley: Without a doubt, Farley is one of the strongest female characters that I had ever read. Most of the girls in this book are. I loved FarleyxShade, and I am actually pretty sure that Farley is pregnant. And that kills me because they won't have a father growing up.

Cal: Cal confuses me... he was not my ship in Red Queen (for the most part), and he was slightly annoying at times in this book. I do like how he stepped up at times though to take care of Mare and assume an active role in the rebellion and Scarlet Guard.

Maven: He is the reason I threw up. His words and actions were just so revolting and perfectly evil that I couldn't help myself. To be more specific, I threw up when he put a F***ING COLLAR ON HER. Maven! What the hell?! I had hope that you were being brainwashed my your mom! But this, along with the fact the he was keeping his mom practically prisoner, makes me reluctantly believe that it was all Maven, and I still really really don't want him to be evil.

Mare: Holy complicated, realistic, and complex character. Because of the realistic development of Mare's character, she is one of my favorites. I know some people were annoyed by her actions and responses in the book, but let's be practical. She just came from a high-stress hellish experience. PTSD is to be expected and Mare was supremely strong in her position. I applaud Victoria for writing Mare as she did. The only other concern that I have for this character is that she is going to go dark.... because for as much as Mare has been fighting for the Scarlet Guard, I could also see her teaming up with Maven to fight the Lakelanders and the other ones(idk their name?).

WORLD:
Just like her characters, Victoria Aveyard has created an intensely complex world that is a very nice blend of magical elements, political scheming, and potential outside forces coming in. The biggest thought I have about it right now is about the visitors that Mare had towards the end of the book from the other country. It's killing me that I can't remember their name right now, but with that visit, Mare brings up that there is a very fine edge to walk on when fixing the corrupt so that you don't become the next corrupt along the way. This, tied into what happens at the end... I have a very strange theory about how this story is going to play out.

For the entire book, we have no clue what Maven is really up to. We don't know about his POV, his thoughts, what he knows, nothing. What if he knows about the other external threats? Is trying to take care of it himself? What if he is putting up a front to maintain a level of surprise? I may be grasping for straws here because I still don't want Maven to be bad, but he id definitely smart enough to put on a show like this. Capturing Mare? Part inner psycho, part strategy to make sure that he has someone with New Red blood and a sharp mind to confide in reliably. An inner eye and ear to speak of about Scarlet Guard. And Mare ultimately wants what is best for the land, which is equality. So if she believes that Maven is the most level-headed unbiased choice out of all of them, she may begin to help him to prevent a power reversal of red and silver blood and instead implant a new political system of equality. This is very confusing, but I hope that it also makes sense once you think about it some more.

WRITING:
Amazing. Simply amazing.

I have big hopes for this series, so I would HIGHLY recommend picking them up now and starting them while they're still (somewhat) unknown. I use that term very loosely, because they are bestselling novels and almost everybody in the book world has heard of them. The first book is Red Queen and just like this book, it is amazing and beautifully written.

Thanks for reading!

Glass Sword Review NO SPOILERS

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

OH MY GOD WHAT THE HECK VICTORIA AVEYARD WHAT THE ACTUAL HECK!!! HOW COULD THAT.... WHAAAA??????? THIS BOOK IS TOO GOOD AND EVIL TO BE READ WITH A SHRED OF SANITY!!!!!!!!!

Sequels are like the dead zone of a series, but this one isn't. If anything, it felt as though it was the beginning of another and that there is another plot line now. But there's not. Victoria did such an amazing job adding in new elements and tying things together and setting up for what I think is going to be an unbelievable series overall. There were a few parts where I either couldn't follow it right away, or it just seemed to drag a bit, but the rest of it totally made up for those few parts. It is original, and stunning, and beautiful.

Thanks for Reading!

View all my reviews

Suspicion by Alexandra Monir Review WITH SPOILERS

Suspicion by Alexandra Monir

Review WITH SPOILERS

4 out of 5 Stars

I actually read this book quite a while ago.... and I wish there was more to it. The legitimate review that I want to give this book is 4.45 stars out of 5. It was great! And I loved reading a book with modern-day English peerage system involved. Not only was it interesting in that sense, but it was also captivating with magic, charming characters, and mystery. Alexandra Monir did a really well job with this story and although I have not read any of her other books, if Suspicion is anything to show for her writing style, I really want to get my hands on those other books.

 CHARACTERS:
Soooo....... Because I haven't read this book in months, details are slightly fuzzy, but I do remember the general gist of how things happened and what was going on. The characters in this book were pretty good. The mains were well characterized, but I wish that could have expanded to some of the more side characters. That being said, that is the only somewhat negative thing I have to say about the characters. They weren't cliche or obnoxious and they interacted well with each other.

SETTING: Like I already mentioned, I really loved and still love the English peerage system. The way that all of this was tied into the story and the mystery of the murder was fastening. Also, the descriptions of the house and grounds were awesome and they were beautiful and haunting with their past all at once.

WRITING: I am very glad to say that there is absolutely no recollection of any bad writing or awful plot holes. I actually do remember that Alexandra Monir was able to keep the secret from unraveling for a very long time and continue raising suspicions about others while doing so. That takes a lot of skill and she pulled it off masterfully.
  Suspicion is amazing. Like I said, I wish that I had more of it, and that was part of the reason that it did not get a full five stars. It makes sense that the book stopped here and isn't going further, but I'm going to miss it. :( Alexandra Monir wrote with great skill and I am looking forward to reading her other books.

Thanks for reading!

Review: Suspicion by Alexandra Monir NO SPOILERS

Suspicion by Alexandra Monir

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

NO SPOILERS 

I actually read this book quite a while ago.... and I wish there was more to it. The legitimate review that I want to give this book is 4.45 stars out of 5. It was great! And I loved reading a book with modern-day English peerage system involved. Not only was it interesting in that sense, but it was also captivating with magic, charming characters, and mystery. Alexandra Monir did a really well job with this story and although I have not read any of her other books, if Suspicion is anything to show for her writing style, I really want to get my hands on those other books.

Suspicion is amazing. Like I said, I wish that I had more of it, and that was part of the reason that it did not get a full five stars. It makes sense that the book stopped here and isn't going further, but I'm going to miss it. :( Alexandra Monir wrote with great skill and I am looking forward to reading her other books.

Thanks for reading!

View all my reviews

Outlander Review SPOILERS

Outlander Review WITH SPOILERS
by Diana Gabaldon

5 of 5 Stars

Wow. Simply wow. It can be hard to find books like Outlander. Books that take the time to build up the story and the background that they need, but still in a way that leaves you wanting to continue to read and never put down the book. Books that when the main plot line is revealed, you have no power over the way the book has possessed your mind and consumes your waking thoughts. It is hard to find books like this. Outlander has all of it. Even more so, it has a detailed and creative setting with historical accuracy and the some of the best character development that is realistic and true. It is long. VERY long actually, but totally worth all of the time and effort.

SPOILERS AHEAD

CHARACTERS:

Claire Randall: She is.... amazing. She worked as a nurse in WWII, is still keeping up with her herbs and healing practices, and when she is thrown into a time loop back to the 1700s, she has only a small chance to learn what is happening and save her own neck. Which she does. Even when she is told to marry someone else, someone she barely knows, she holds her own before taking it in stride. And despite being surrounded by mostly men in a time period where men are seen as everything and women as dirt, she doesn't take shit from anyone. Bravo to her- if I ever get sent back in time, I'm going to follow her lead.

James Fraser: JAMIE!!!! I loved Jamie. A part of me wishes that the whole first section of the book that takes place in 1900s wasn't even there, even though I know that it was necessary for the book to have made sense the way that it did. It is hard to describe Jamie without seeming like I'm completely fangirling over him because his character is that good. He is loyal to a fault, handsome, brave, and has incredible morals. He supports Claire, is like a knight in shining armor, and even learns to believe the seemingly impossible. Plus, he's gorgeous.

Jack Randall: As much as I hate the guy, he is really interesting. I would never want to meet him. Ever. But his character is twisted and I'd imagine feeling trapped by his sexuality and desires in a time period that is completely backwards from today's ideals and almost archaic in its views.
There are so many more characters in the story, and all of them are really well put together, but I would be writing a novel myself just to review them all. But know that they are all really well written and original. It may help to take notes though to keep them all straight in your head.

SETTING:

I think it is safe to say that I am officially obsessed with Scotland now because of this book. The descriptions of the highlands and all of the different geographical attributes makes me want to visit there and capture all of the beauty that is there.

In the story, the original setting is 1945, which is one of my favorite times in history. But then as Claire gets sent back in time, she goes to 1743, which I know almost nothing about. I know absolutely nothing of what was going on in England at that time, and when references were starting to be made to the historical events of the time, I had no clue what they were talking about. So I did some light research as to the event of the time period and the area and it was so interesting. I then went back to the book and all of the references were much clearer and even more interesting, knowing what was going to happen because of knowing the history. Weird explanation there, but what I'm trying to get across is that Diana Gabaldon did a fantastic job of tying in the history and making sure that was done so in a way that was captivating yet accurate.

WRITING:

Diana Gabaldon's writing isn't necessarily easy to read. It's not that it is grammatically inaccurate, but just harder to read because of Scottish jargon, accents, and a more complex vocabulary and sentence structure. I actually appreciated this because it was nice to read something a little more complicated. I already gushed about how she was able to weave a tale that kept you wondering and thinking about even when you weren't reading, so I won't go over that again.
 
This book was great in that it was fun, challenging, and historical. Her writing was near impeccable, and I cannot wait to read the other books in the series to see where Claire and Jamie will go next and what will happen in the plot.

Thanks for reading!

Outlander Review NO SPOILERS

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow. Simply wow. It can be hard to find books like Outlander. Books that take the time to build up the story and the background that they need, but still in a way that leaves you wanting to continue to read and never put down the book. Books that when the main plot line is revealed, you have no power over the way the book has possessed your mind and consumes your waking thoughts. It is hard to find books like this. Outlander has all of it. Even more so, it has a detailed and creative setting with historical accuracy and the some of the best character development that is realistic and true. It is long. VERY long actually, but totally worth all of the time and effort.

[
CHARACTERS:
Claire Randall: She is.... amazing. She worked as a nurse in WWII, is still keeping up with her herbs and healing practices, and when she is thrown into a time loop back to the 1700s, she has only a small chance to learn what is happening and save her own neck. Which she does. Even when she is told to marry someone else, someone she barely knows, she holds her own before taking it in stride. And despite being surrounded by mostly men in a time period where men are seen as everything and women as dirt, she doesn't take shit from anyone. Bravo to her- if I ever get sent back in time, I'm going to follow her lead.
James Fraser: JAMIE!!!! I loved Jamie. A part of me wishes that the whole first section of the book that takes place in 1900s wasn't even there, even though I know that it was necessary for the book to have made sense the way that it did. It is hard to describe Jamie without seeming like I'm completely fangirling over him because his character is that good. He is loyal to a fault, handsome, brave, and has incredible morals. He supports Claire, is like a knight in shining armor, and even learns to believe the seemingly impossible. Plus, he's gorgeous.
Jack Randall: As much as I hate the guy, he is really interesting. I would never want to meet him. Ever. But his character is twisted and I'd imagine feeling trapped by his sexuality and desires in a time period that is completely backwards from today's ideals and almost archaic in its views.
There are so many more characters in the story, and all of them are really well put together, but I would be writing a novel myself just to review them all. But know that they are all really well written and original. It may help to take notes though to keep them all straight in your head.
SETTING:
I think it is safe to say that I am officially obsessed with Scotland now because of this book. The descriptions of the highlands and all of the different geographical attributes makes me want to visit there and capture all of the beauty that is there. In the story, the original setting is 1945, which is one of my favorite times in history. But then as Claire gets sent back in time, she goes to 1743, which I know almost nothing about. I know absolutely nothing of what was going on in England at that time, and when references were starting to be made to the historical events of the time, I had no clue what they were talking about. So I did some light research as to the event of the time period and the area and it was so interesting. I then went back to the book and all of the references were much clearer and even more interesting, knowing what was going to happen because of knowing the history. Weird explanation there, but what I'm trying to get across is that Diana Gabaldon did a fantastic job of tying in the history and making sure that was done so in a way that was captivating yet accurate.
WRITING:
Diana Gabaldon's writing isn't necessarily easy to read. It's not that it is grammatically inaccurate, but just harder to read because of Scottish jargon, accents, and a more complex vocabulary and sentence structure. I actually appreciated this because it was nice to read something a little more complicated. I already gushed about how she was able to weave a tale that kept you wondering and thinking about even when you weren't reading, so I won't go over that again.
(hide spoiler)]
This book was great in that it was fun, challenging, and historical. Her writing was near impeccable, and I cannot wait to read the other books in the series to see where Claire and Jamie will go next and what will happen in the plot.

Thanks for reading!


View all my reviews

Me Before You Movie Review

Me Before You Movie Review

4.2 Stars out of 5

I really like this movie. I didn't love it, but I thought that it was really well done and that they did a really good job with what they had. I say this because in the movie, it seemed like the relationship and time frame moved really fast, when in reality, it was a process and development that took months. I feel like this is something that is better portrayed in general in books than in movies. Books takes hours if not days or weeks to read. It feels like a more natural progression of what is happening in the story. In movies though, there's only about two hours to tell the full story. That being said, Me Before You did a pretty good job with the movie adaptation of the book. Obviously, being an adaptation, things were cut out of the movie that were in the book, but that is almost a given when it comes to adaptations. There were only one or two parts cut out though that I was sincerely missing, so overall, not a terrible job of cutting out stuff. :)

The acting I thought was great. I adored the cast and thought they did a really good job working together on stage to make the story believable and realistic. Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke became Will and Lou, which was a relief to see. I was worried that with knowing almost all of those actors and actresses from other places that I wouldn't be able to connect properly to the story, but that wasn't the case at all. They became their characters and made the movie. Also, the setting was absolutely gorgeous! I want to live (or at least visit) the castle that they filmed at. The small English town they chose was adorable, and the beach scenes made me want to make a deal with the devil to go there. ;)

Overall, I would recommend going to see this movie, but don't go into it expecting it to be totally accurate or like the book. Granted, I still cried at the end of the movie, just like I did at the end of the book, but it was a different feel than the book gave me. Be open going into it, and watch it as the movie, or as a movie. Otherwise, I am not sure how pleased you will be with it, because like all book to film adaptations, things had to be cut out. If you haven't read the book and are still thinking about going to see it, go for it. It was really well done and it a beautiful mix of humor, hope, and sadness.

Thanks for reading!